Turn Left Bannerman Road Edition
by RavenclawGirl29
Summary: We all know what happens that fateful day when Donna Noble turned Right instead of Left, but what happened to the other charactors we know and love? Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, and Maria? This is their story.
1. A Very Merry Christmas

**Disclaimer, I own nothing. Okay, so I was really interested in the Turn Left Timeline. What happened to Sarah Jane? Obviously she died in the hospital, but what happened to her between Christmas and then? How did she cope with the Doctor's Death? How did if influence her and the kids? This is my version of that. I might do a Torchwood rendition later, but for now I'm focused on this. Please enjoy and comment 3**

"Then you'll never guess what Maria did! She when right up to him, grabbed the book out of his hand and said, 'Excuse me, sir, but...' Mum? Mum? Mum are you okay?"

But Sarah Jane Smith wasn't listening to her son at all, she stood frozen, the dish she was washing still in her hand.

"Mum?" Luke said again cautiously. "Can you hear me?" Luke touched his mother gently on her arm, looked up with a start, the dish in her hands crashing onto the floor and shattering.

"What? Oh, sorry, Luke. Shoot, now I have to clean this up. What were you saying?" Sarah Jane said hastily trying to cover her moment of phasing out.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked.

"Of course, why don't I finish this up, you can go up to bed."

"It's only 7:00." said Luke.

"Oh, yes, is your homework done?"

"It's Christmas break..." He reminded her, "Mum, are you okay? What just happened?"

"Nothing happened," Sarah Jane assured him, "Sorry, I'm getting old, mind starts going blank every now and then."

Luke smiled, "You're not old."

Sarah Jane smiled back at her son, "Most women my age would be knitting sweaters and playing canasta."

"That's so _boring_ though."

"My thoughts exactly, what's the point in life if you can't hunt down a Slitheen every now and then?" Sarah Jane laughed, "Why don't you go over and see how Maria's Christmas was, go on, off you pop."

"You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine." Sarah Jane promised, "Now go."

Luke smiled and went out the front door. But Sarah Jane did not feel fine at all. She felt like something terrible had happened, something so terrible she didn't even want to think about what it could be. Part of her felt empty and hollow, but she didn't know why. Despite the fact she had just had a lovely holiday with her son, she felt like crying. As soon as she was sure Luke was across the street, she abandoned the after Christmas dishes and hurried up to the attic.

"Mr. Smith, I need you." She said the second she walked in the door.

"Sarah Jane, I was wondering when you'd come up." the computer replied in its usual monotone.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you been watching the sky?" Mr. Smith asked.

Sarah Jane had to admit she hadn't been. She had been determined to give her son the best Christmas ever which meant no alien interferences.

"What's been happening? Show me?" Sarah Jane demanded. Mr. Smith's screen filled with an image of a star like ship hovering over London, right when Sarah Jane was about to wonder what it was, bursts of lightning started shooting from it, killing the bystanders below.

"That's what was on my television." A voice came from behind Sarah Jane making her jump. Maria, Luke, and Clyde were standing in the door. "I was just getting ready to come over here when Luke got to my house. The man on the tele was calling it a killer Christmas star."

"Identification, Racnoss, a humanoid arachnid from the Mutter's Spiral, this 'star' was, was there spaceship. The racnoss race has not been seen in over a billion years and was notably destroyed by the Time Lords of Gallifrey." The words _Time Lord _and _Gallifrey_ weighed heavy in Sarah Jane's stomach.

"So what are they doing in London if they haven't been seen in a billion years?" Clyde asked.

"Data insignificant," Mr. Smith replied, "Both the racnoss ship, and any other relics have been destroyed fifteen minutes ago."

"Who destroyed them?" asked Maria.

"UNIT." the computer said.

"Thank you, Mr. Smith, keep scanning, and let me know if you find anything." Sarah Jane said.

"Yes, Sarah Jane." The computer answered, closing up once again.

"So what do we do?" Clyde asked, excitement filling his voice.

"We're not going to do anything." Sarah Jane told him, "It's been taken care of already, you heard Mr. Smith. Now I suggest you both go home and finish up your Christmases."

"But something big is going down!" Clyde complained.

"No, it went down." said Sarah Jane, "It's over, none of our concern anymore."

"But what if..." Started Maria.

"Someone else has taken care of it." Sarah Jane told them, "Look, go home, enjoy your Christmas. I'm sure it won't be long until our next emergency, so let's not go looking for more than we need, alright?"

Both kids looked disheartened but nodded. "See you tomorrow, then." Maria sighed, as she and Clyde left the attic.

Luke put his hand on his Mum's shoulder, "You sure you're alright?" He asked again.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Sarah Jane assured him, "Look at me. I look fine. You need to stop worrying so much."

"I can't help but worry about you." Luke said.

"You're so sweet, but I'm the parent, it's _my _job to worry about_ you."_ Sarah Jane told him. She hugged him, "Come on, then, let's see if we can find any presents that we missed." 


	2. Death of the Doctor

**Disclaimer, I own nothing. First off, thank you to MyNameIsAwesome for being my beta, as well as listening to me whine after I thought I had to rewrite this all again. (thankfully, I didn't have to) I really hope I get more reviews on the chapter *hint* *hint* I hope you like it. Please enjoy **

The morning after Christmas, Maria was sitting sideways in a chair in the attic of Sarah Jane's house, testing out Luke's new remote control helicopter. Luke and Clyde were on the floor swapping trading cards that they had gotten yesterday. (Luke hadn't quite grasped the concept of trading cards yet. He still didn't see the point of them other than to read the statistic of football players he didn't particularly care about, but Clyde was trying his hardest to get him into them.) Sarah Jane was supervising with vague interest as she sorted through a stack of papers on her desk, her glasses on the point of her nose.

"Will you knock that off!" Clyde snapped after Maria hit him in the head with another foam dart from the helicopter. Maria just laughed. "I'm gonna take that thing away from you," he warned.

"I'd like to see you try," challenged Maria. Clyde jumped up and started at her, tickling her as Luke wrestled the remote out of her hands.

"Got it!" he said proudly.

"Hey!" protested Maria.

Sarah Jane looked up. "You three, behave yourselves."

"He started it," Maria said at the same time Clyde said, "She started it."

Sarah Jane just rolled her eyes and smiled to herself before looking back down at her paperwork.

"Here, let me have a go," Clyde said, taking the remote from Luke.

"Back off, it's mine. I haven't even had a chance to try it yet," Luke said.

The boys teased each other playfully and Maria jumped on Luke's back to unbalance him. The three kids landed in a messy, laughing pile on the floor. Sarah Jane smiled again. It was easy to forget the universe in such an innocent moment as this. It was nice seeing the kids acting like kids for a change, playing and teasing like normal teenagers do. For one moment the world was completely perfect. But the precious moment ended almost as suddenly as it started. Right as Clyde escaped the group and jumped up, grabbing the remote, the moment was shattered by Mr. Smith opening and surprising everyone.

"Sarah Jane," Mr. Smith said, "Warning- UNIT vehicles closing in around the house."

"What?" Sarah Jane shouted, slamming her book on her desk. She stood up furiously.

"Awesome!" Clyde exclaimed.

Sarah Jane marched down the stairs. Luke, Clyde, and Maria followed close behind. Sarah Jane barely paused before the door. She threw it open so violently it could have broken off the hinge.

"You stop right there!" she yelled at the five or six SUVs driving into the yard. "I will not have soldiers on my property!"

She could see Alan and Chrissie looking over into her yard with interest. But she didn't care; it had been a long time since she trusted UNIT and she didn't what those trigger happy jar heads anywhere near her son. She was ready to demand an explanation when she was caught off guard by the woman who stepped out of the first SUV.

"Rose?" Sarah Jane said. She recognized the pretty blonde with sad eyes. They had only met once before, but the incident had been so momentous, Sarah Jane knew she would remember the face anywhere. Rose traveled with the Doctor, just as Sarah Jane had. Sarah Jane wondered what the girl was doing with UNIT.

"Hello, Sarah Jane," Rose said.

Everything about the situation shouted bad news, "Clyde, Maria, I think you two best be getting home."

"Aww, but I wanna..." Clyde started.

"Now." Sarah Jane said firmly. "Luke, go put a kettle on for tea."

Maria pulled Clyde across the street as Luke disappeared into the house. "I think we should talk in private," said Rose.

"Miss, I must insist..." A UNIT officer started, but Rose cut her off.

"I let you bring me here," Rose snapped, "now I'm here. Can I please talk to Sarah Jane alone?"

The UNIT officer looked like she was going to argue but didn't.

Sarah Jane motioned towards the house. "Come on in." The UNIT officers looked quite angry, but didn't object to Sarah Jane and Rose going into the house. "I read you died," Sarah Jane said, leading Rose to the table. "At Canary Wharf. I was worried about you. I'm glad the report was wrong."

"It wasn't completely wrong," Rose murmured, "I'm officially dead in this universe; my mum and I went off to live in a parallel world…though not by choice."

"I'm sorry," Sarah Jane said sincerely.

Rose didn't stay on the subject. Instead she looked at her hands as Luke brought out the tea kettle, though Sarah Jane knew it couldn't possibly be warm yet. He poured them cold tea just to do something. "The Brigadier was going to come, but he couldn't get away," Rose said. She paused again. "Sarah Jane..." Rose took a breath and hesitated, as if she didn't know how to start.

"Just tell me what happened to him?" Sarah Jane asked, knowing Rose was going to beat around the bush. Though part of her already knew, she refused to believe the truth until she heard it out loud. "The Doctor- I imagine that's why your here. How bad is he hurt?"

Rose's pretty brown eyes filled with tears, but her voice kept steady. "The Racnoss," she said. "They had base under the River Thames. The Doctor stopped them by flooding the base but he was trapped inside..." a tear slid down her cheek. "There wasn't time for him to regenerate. Sarah Jane, he's dead."

Sarah Jane felt like her heart was tearing apart. Her mouth went dry. "Are you sure it's him?" Sarah Jane asked, stupidly, though she knew Rose was right; she felt it. Deep in her heart there was a void that she knew would never be filled again.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah Jane," Rose said.

"Mum..." Luke murmured. He put his hand on his mother's shoulder.

Rose reached over and took Sarah Jane's hand. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Sarah Jane struggled to get her voice back. The room suddenly seemed very small. When she found her voice it was small and blocked by a lump in her throat. "C-can I see him?"

Rose nodded. "I can bring you and your son to UNIT base now if you would like."

"Do you want me to come with you, Mum?" Luke asked.

Sarah Jane wasn't sure. Part of her wanted the comfort of her son, but part of her wanted to face this alone. She didn't want to put him in danger either. As far as UNIT was concerned Luke was as alien as the ones who created him, but she also didn't think she could face something so big without him. Finally, she took Luke's hand and kissed it, showing him that she wanted him to come with her.

Rose reached out and embraced Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane tried her hardest to get her thoughts straightened out enough to say something, but she felt like the ground had disintegrated under her feet. She had waited so long for the Doctor, always clinging to hope that she would see him again, but now she knew she never would. He had gone. He'd left her one last time, but this time he wasn't coming back.

"When did you start working for UNIT?" Sarah Jane asked. She didn't know why, but it was the first words she managed to form.

"I don't..." replied Rose, "It's...complicated; just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I suppose."

"Can we go, now?" Sarah Jane asked; she didn't want to stay still. She wanted to leave. She didn't care where. She just didn't want to do nothing. Maybe if she could see him, she would see that it wasn't him at all, just a mistake. Some other poor soul that got mistaken for him. Maybe it wasn't too late to regenerate; maybe if she could be close to him again, he would sense her and regenerate for her. Maybe, just maybe, any thread of irrational hope could bring him back.

"Anything you want," said Rose.

"Luke, get your stuff," Sarah Jane commanded. Luke nodded and left. 

"What has Calamity Jane done this time?" Chrissie asked, looking out the window.

"Shut up, Mum!" Maria snapped. "It's not funny!"

Chrissie looked affronted, but Maria was too mad to care. Something bad was happening. Sarah Jane had worked so hard to keep UNIT away from her; away from Luke. If they were there now, it could only mean something really bad was happening. Or that Sarah Jane was in really big trouble.

"Maria..." Chrissie said. But Maria ran upstairs and looked out her window. She watched the house, but no one came out. Anticipation built up in her, making her stomach hurt. What was going on? Who was that blonde? It felt like a millennium that she sat watching the house. It took everything she had in her to stop her from running over the street and finding out what was happening herself. Finally the phone rang and Maria snatched it up. It was Luke.

"Luke. What's going on?"

"Something bad," Luke replied. "Really bad. It's the Doctor- he's dead."

"No!" Maria breathed. "Is Sarah Jane okay?"

"I don't know. I think she will be. But we're leaving to go to UNIT base. Will you watch the house?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Maria."

"Tell Sarah Jane I'm so sorry."

"I will. See you."

"Alright, good luck."

The line went dead.

"What was that all about?" Maria jumped as her father stood in the door.

"Sarah Jane's friend, the Doctor, died," Maria said.

"That's why those soldiers were there?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, Luke and Sarah Jane are going to be gone for a while," Maria said. "Luke asked me to watch the house while they're gone."

"Are you okay?" Alan asked. Maria looked up, surprised.

"I didn't know him," she said.

"But you know what he means to Sarah Jane," Alan said. "I know you what she means to you."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" asked Maria, fear in her voice. "After Luke got taken away from her, she didn't want to talk to Clyde or me anymore. What if she does the same thing now?"

"Oh, sweetheart," Alan said, hugging Maria. "I think she's going to need you to be there for her now more than ever." 


	3. The Last of the Timelords

**Disclaimer, I own nothing. thanks again to MyNameIsAwesome for being my beta, you is awesomes. You should all review, really review…do it now…it takes me days to write this story, you can spend to seconds on hitting the review button**

Rose led Sarah Jane into UNIT headquarters; it had changed quite a bit since she was there. Maybe it wasn't even the same base. Sarah Jane was too mentally exhausted to even wonder. It could easily be a new building in the same place.

"You okay, Mum?" Luke asked for the ten-billionth time.

"I wish you'd stop asking me that," said Sarah Jane. "I'm fine." Even as the words left her mouth, Sarah Jane knew her son would know it was a lie.

"Luke, why don't you go have a look around?" Rose suggested. "While your mum and I talk."

"Kay," Luke agreed. He ran off down a corridor while Rose matched her pace to Sarah Jane's.

"He's a really good kid," Rose said.

"I know," Sarah Jane agreed, looking fondly after her son. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

"I think he's pretty lucky, too," said Rose. Sarah Jane couldn't help but smile at her. There was a pause. "It's okay," Rose said, stopping to look at Sarah Jane, "to let him know how you're feeling; he'll understand."

Sarah Jane shook her head. "No." She couldn't explain it, but she felt an irrevocable need to protect Luke from seeing her emotions. He didn't need to see her break down. She knew that he would be supportive and mature about it. But he would also feel the need to take care of her; she didn't want to put that on him. "He has enough to worry about."

"He'll want to help," Rose pointed out.

"I know," Sarah Jane admitted. "That's why. He has enough on his shoulders as it is. Taking care of his mum doesn't need to be added to that."

Rose didn't press her; instead she shifted the subject. "I looked you up," she said. "You're really impressive."

Sarah Jane gave a dry laugh. "I'm surprised UNIT has anything good to say about me. I didn't exactly leave on high terms."

"I don't know, Sarah, there are still a few of us who remember how much you did for us," an old but familiar voice said from behind her.

"Sir Alistair!" Sarah Jane exclaimed, running up to hug her old friend. The Brigadier hugged her back.

"My dear, Sarah, you haven't changed a bit." The Brig said.

"It's so good to see you." Sarah Jane said, momentarily forgetting why she was seeing him.

"I wish it could be under circumstances," The Brigadier said, sadly. "I'm sorry I couldn't fetch you and your son myself, but I trust you'd be safe with our lovely Miss No Name, here." He indicated Rose.

"No name?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I'm not supposed to be in the time stream," Rose replied, "and I've been through enough parallel dimensions to know that the wrong word in the wrong place can cause all sorts of nasty rebounds in the space time continuum." She looked away, and added heavily, "And there's no one to set things right now."

"Well, whoever you are, I thank you for your help," the Brigadier said.

"It's the least I can do," Rose returned.

"No, my dear, it's the most," the Brigadier corrected. "Anyways, I came to find you because it's time to say good-bye." Sarah Jane felt a punch in her stomach at those words. Goodbye. How could she ever say goodbye to the Doctor? How could she ever let that man go? She didn't realize several moments passed until Rose touched her shoulder.

"It's okay," Rose said softly, though Sarah Jane could tell the girl was holding back tears of her own. "Do you want me to find your son? So you don't have to be alone."

"No," Sarah Jane answered, her voice thick.

Rose took her hand. Sarah Jane knew she was going through the same thing, maybe even worse. Sarah Jane had had over thirty years without the Doctor to get used to the idea of life without him. Rose was just traveling with him; this must be like suddenly plunging into cold water for her. It gave Sarah Jane comfort to be facing this with someone going through the same thing.

The Brigadier brought them to a big room that resembled a funeral home chapel. It wasn't packed, but there were a fair few people there, some Sarah Jane recognized, some she didn't. She didn't talk to anyone; by this time the lump in her throat was so thick that she didn't know if she'd want to if she could.

Rose was still holding her hand as they walked up to the casket. He hadn't regenerated since she'd last seen him. He was still the young brown haired man that she had met at the school. Tears fell from her eyes. He was pale. So very pale. His face was slackened peacefully. His hair stuck out at odd angles. When Sarah Jane's aunt died, she'd looked like she was sleeping in her coffin. But the Doctor didn't. He looked small and cold and lonely and so very, very dead. Sarah Jane reached out her hand and stroked the side of his face. He was cold. So cold.

She let out a sob; then covered her mouth to stop herself from letting out another one. Rose squeezed her other hand.

Sarah Jane tried to talk but it took her a second to wrap her mouth around the words. "What…What are they going to do with his body?" she asked.

"He'll have to be cremated," the Brigadier answered. "He's the last Time Lord in the universe. If anyone got even a cell from his body, we don't know what could happen."

"His ashes are going to be released up in space, where he can be free to roam the stars." Rose said, her eyes glistening with tears.

Sarah Jane nodded; that sounded fitting. She felt herself shaking. Rose must have felt it too. "Do you want to go up to your room?" she asked, softly.

"Actually, can I have a moment alone?" she asked. Rose squeezed her hand again, then retreated. The Brigadier patted her shoulder and followed.

"Bet you never saw this coming," Sarah Jane said, quietly. "All those times we got into trouble- Sontarans and dinosaurs, Daleks and Cybermen- you probably thought you'd be the one at my funeral, not the other way around." She paused, then continued. "That's certainly what I thought. But I want to thank you, Doctor. Thank you for everything. I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

She got too choked up to talk anymore. Another hand touched her shoulder, but this time it wasn't Rose's or the Brigadier's; she looked over to see Luke. He had found her, just like he always did. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. His presence was enough. Sarah Jane rested her head on his shoulder, suddenly too tired to care what he might think, and let him lead her away up to their room.


	4. Searching for Normal

Sarah Jane and Luke stayed at UNIT for a couple more days. Sarah Jane helped the Brigadier out around base. Luke managed to wiggle himself into a science lab and was greatly enjoying that. Sarah Jane was still a little nervous having him in UNIT, him being what he was, but the Brigadier promised no one would hurt him and Rose promised to keep an eye on him. No one else had to know he wasn't 100% human. But soon enough it was time they went home.

The Brigadier and Rose hugged them good-bye. "If you need anything, Sarah, you just call me. Anything at all," the Brigadier said.

"I'll come visit," Rose promised.

"Thank you," Sarah Jane said. Neither Sarah Jane nor Luke were surprised when they got home to see Maria and Clyde waiting for them.

"There you are," Clyde said as Sarah Jane got out of the car. "We were beginning to think UNIT kidnapped you. We were planning a full scale rescue mission."

Sarah Jane gave a weak smile. "Thanks for that, Clyde, but I'm in no mood to entertain right now."

Clyde opened his mouth to protest but Luke caught his eye and gave him a small shake of the head.

"Why don't you go and rest, Sarah Jane?" Maria suggested, "I'm sure you had a long weekend. Luke, we were just about to check out that new arcade down town, wanna come with us?"

Sarah Jane gave Maria a thankful half smile.

"Alright, I'll be home for dinner, Mum," Luke said, kissing Sarah Jane on the cheek.

"Love you," Sarah Jane told him.

Sarah Jane watched the kids go; then went up to the attic. She thought about calling out Mr. Smith, but she didn't feel like talking to him- she didn't want a case to work on now. Instead, she fell into the couch, feeling exhausted. She had always kept ahead of her age, always able to keep up with someone half as old as her. But suddenly, all at once, she felt like the 57-year-old she was. She felt all used up. Part of her knew it was just the shock of everything that just happened- finding out the Doctor was dead, seeing his body burned, accepting that he was never going to brighten her world again.

Part of her knew it was just grief and that she needed to fight through it. But part of her wanted to give in and sink into the despair. Give it all up and let the world take care of itself. Right now, that part was winning. She knew she never could, though, as much as she wanted to now. She knew she could never turn her back on Luke and Clyde and Maria. She knew they would never let her.

There was a soft knock on the door. Sarah Jane looked up. Alan was standing in the door.

"I came to see if you needed anything," he said.

"The past forty years back would be nice," Sarah Jane replied. Alan gave her a small smile and she returned it half-heartedly. He sat down in the chair across from her. She sighed, "I don't know what to do. It feels as if my whole world shifted."

"I know how you feel," Alan said, "A few years ago, my best mate got in a car crash. I didn't know what to do; I felt like everything was wrong in the world. I didn't think I'd ever cope with it."

"How did you?" asked Sarah Jane.

"Maria helped, and Chrissie…tried…unsuccessfully. Things got back to normal, slowly, life went on." He paused. "I still miss him, all the time. It's going to be tough; don't let anyone tell you it isn't. And it's going to hurt for a long time, but after a while the pain goes away."

"It's not just me, Alan," Sighed Sarah Jane. "I'm worried for the whole world, my son, your daughter…I do what I can from here, but let's be honest. I'm not going to be around forever. Sure there's UNIT, and Torchwood, but we can only do so much. What's going to happen when something happens to the Earth that we can't stop? There is no one to protect us now."

"We'll manage," Alan said.

"I hope so," said Sarah Jane. "I really hope so."

"Can I ask you something personal?" Alan asked, "This Doctor, were you in love with him?" Sarah Jane could tell Alan wasn't trying to pry. He was just trying to understand her better. She could tell he was genuinely wanting to help her.

"Oh, Alan," Sarah Jane said, a weak, sad smile on her face, "this is _my _life we're talking about; do you really think it could be anything that simple?"

Alan put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a one armed hug.

The days drummed by, turning into weeks. New Year's came and went. 2007 brought the beginning of a new term and the kids went back to school, too soon for Clyde, but not soon enough for Luke. Rose kept true to her promise and came for tea once or twice a week. Alan stepped up as well. He became more involved with alien watching, and would often come around with Maria after work just to chat. As much as Sarah Jane loved Luke, Clyde, and Maria, it was nice to have other adults to talk to, particularly Rose, who was able to exchange stories about the TARDIS with Sarah Jane.

"Did he ever bring you to New Earth?" Rose asked, one day over biscuits.

"No."

"Well, it's this planet, like, a billion years away from here, same size as the Earth, same air, same everything, only it's inhabited by cats."

"Cats?" Sarah Jane repeated in disbelief. "You're bluffing."

"I am not," Rose said, "Five foot tall cats in nun wibble."

"I'm sorry, I can't believe you. I just can't," Sarah Jane laughed.

"I'm not kidding," Rose said. "They ran this hospital that had a cure for, like, everything. But the Doctor discovered that they were using home grown humans as lab rats, and…" Before Rose finished the door opened. And the kids came bustling in. Rose had always been gone before they got home from school.

"Oops, sorry," Sarah Jane said.

"Why?" Rose asked.

Clyde answered her question when he came into the dining room. "Hey, you're that UNIT girl," he said, upon seeing Rose. "Do you get to take down alien baddies all the time?" He made the shape of an imaginary gun and shot at invisible aliens.

Rose laughed. "It's not quite like that," she said. "I best be off, though."

"I'll walk you to the door," Sarah Jane volunteered.

"See ya, Luke," said Rose.

"Bye."

At the door, Rose turned to Sarah Jane. "I never asked; how are you doing?"

"It's been hard," Sarah Jane admitted, "but it's getting easier. Seems like things are finally back to normal. How about you?"

"I'm coping," Rose said. "The Brig's been really helpful; he gave me level two clearance so I've been able to keep busy."

"That's good," Sarah Jane said. "Tell the Brig hi for me. I'll see you next week?"

"Yeah, but probably not until Friday. I have to run to Wales; I think I've found one of my friends in Cardiff, and I don't know if he knows yet."

"Well, take care until then," said Sarah Jane. The women hugged and Rose left.


	5. Warning Signs

Three months had passed since Christmas. The pain of the loss of the Doctor had started to become more manageable, and days ticked by in a gentle rhythm. One Thursday night, Sarah Jane was in the attic, working on an article on the upcoming election. Luke was on the floor taking chemistry lessons with Mr. Smith. Sarah Jane was just finishing up a paragraph and was ready to send Luke to bed when there was lightning outside. "What's that?" Luke asked, abandoning his chemistry set and running to the window.

"Mr. Smith?" Sarah Jane asked, joining her son.

"Temporal displacement detected." Mr. Smith replied.

"Mum, is that Rose?" Luke asked. Sure enough the blonde was running up their front path.

"I wonder what she wants?" said Sarah Jane, "She was over only yesterday."

Sarah Jane and Luke headed downstairs. Rose barged in the door without bothering to knock.

"Sarah Jane, hi," Rose said, stopping to recover her breath. She tried to look casual, leaning against the doorway. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing new since yesterday," Sarah Jane answered, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, nothing." said Rose, unconvincingly, "I was just wondering…what are you planning to do tomorrow and the next day?"

"I don't know. I don't have anything that interesting planned, why?"

"I was just thinking…you really need a break." Rose said, again, trying and failing to be casual, "Take a nice trip, you know, out to the country, or something. Maybe take a break from alien watching for a little while. Nice little camping trip maybe? Or a holiday in Cardiff?"

"I can't, Luke has school." Said Sarah Jane.

"He can miss a day," Rose argued, "You said yourself he has perfect attendance, one day won't cause him to fall behind."

"What do you know?" asked Sarah Jane, suspiciously. Rose shifted her position, looking down and picking something off her jacket.

"Nothing, nothing at all," she said, "I just thought it would be nice. Take a break, you deserve one."

"No, I know that's not it." Said Sarah Jane, "What are you up to? What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm not up to anything." Rose said. "In fact, I could use a break, too. We could all take a holiday, take the Brig, Clyde and Maria, Alan, we can all have some nice alien hunter bonding."

"I can't exactly put a sign on the door that says 'please don't invade today, I'm on holiday.'"

"Why not?" asked Rose, "UNIT's still there, and Torchwood."

"You know I don't agree with how UNIT and Torchwood does things." Said Sarah Jane.

"One day won't cause the world to end." Rose said.

"You also know that's not true. Now, knock this off Rose, tell me what's going on. Don't patronise me like this."

"I can't tell you." Rose said, "You know I can't, really wish I could, but I can't. I shouldn't even be telling you this." Sarah Jane eyed her suspiciously. "Sarah Jane, please just trust me. Please, just, if you've never trusted me on anything else before, please just trust me on this."

Sarah Jane looked into Rose's eyes. They were pleading, but determined, "I trust you." Sarah Jane said. "But I can't get out. I have an interview with Harriet Jones tomorrow. Defending the Earth is a side project, I still have a job."

"Good," Rose said, "Know what, Harriet Jones is fine, tell her I say hi... never mind, don't, I'm probably not her favourite person. Just, don't do anything extraterrestrial the next two days."

"Okay." Sarah Jane said.

Rose looked relieved, "Promise?"

"Yeah, sure, I promise." Sarah Jane said.

"Okay," said Rose, "I need to get back to base, you have my mobile number, call me, okay? I'm not kidding, anything that comes up, give me a ring."

"Okay." Sarah Jane said, "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

"Right, of course you can," agreed Rose. "I'll be off, then, see you Tuesday."

"See you then."

"And remember, nothing extraterrestrial, you promised."

"Okay." Sarah Jane said again, getting slightly annoyed. "Good-bye Rose."

"Bye, then." Rose said, nodding to Luke before heading back out of the door.

"I wonder what all that was about." Luke said.

"I don't know." Said Sarah Jane, "It's hard to tell with her sometimes. It's probably something UNIT is planning that she thinks I might disapprove of."

"You disapprove of most of the things UNIT does." Luke pointed out. Sarah Jane laughed.

"That's not completely true," said Sarah Jane, "I suppose whatever it is, we'll find out tomorrow. Anyways, you get upstairs and clean up your 'lesson'. It's bed time, spit-spot." Luke rolled his eyes and went upstairs.

Being thrown out of offices was nothing new for Sarah Jane, but it was never big on dignity. She was on her way home after being chucked out of Harriet Jones's office. Apparently, Harriet Jones wasn't quite as keen on discussing her 'adventures' with the Doctor as Rose was. And casually bringing up the genocide of a ship full of retreating soldiers was a bit of a sore spot.

It was just as Sarah Jane passed the Royal Hope Hospital that she noticed it. Something felt…off. She couldn't explain it, but an instinct in her gut told her that something was up at the hospital. She parked her car and got out. She flipped open her watch and did a quick scan. There were elevated levels of plasmacores around the hospital. Suspicious, she closed her watch and headed home. She pulled in the driveway just as Luke and Maria were walking up the street.

"I thought you said you would be home late." Luke said as he met his mum's car.

"Well, you know," Sarah Jane shrugged, nonchalantly, "Things happen, people don't always have a sense of humor."

"You got kicked out." said Maria, halfway between disapproving and laughing.

"Again." Luke added. Sarah Jane rolled her eyes.

"Enough cheek from you two." she said. "We need to check something. I was driving past the hospital and I noticed something funny."

"Something alien?" asked Maria, starting to get excited.

"Possibly." Sarah Jane said.

"Mum, you promised Rose we wouldn't do anything extraterrestrial for the next few days." Luke warned.

"Oh, looking won't do anything." Sarah Jane said.

"I don't know…" said Luke.

"Okay, come on, Luke." Maria said, "Stop worrying so much."

Luke looked unsure, but he didn't say anything as Sarah Jane unlocked the door and the trio went into the attic. "Mr. Smith," called Sarah Jane, "I need you."

Luke hung back, still looking unsure. "Hello, Sarah Jane," greeted Mr. Smith in his usual monotone, "What can I do for you?"

"Can you run a scan around the Royal Hope Hospital."

"Certainly, what am I looking for?" the computer asked.

"An increase in plasmacores, I picked them up on my watch on my way home, see if that was just mistake."

The computer processed for a few seconds, "There has been an increase in plasmacores around the hospital facility, growing over the past two days, not to mention a substantial increase in power usage within the building."

"That's not good." Sarah Jane said, "We need to get in there."

"Mum, you said you were just going to look." Luke objected.

"This could be dangerous." Said Sarah Jane, "I have to check it out."

"Call the Brigadier," Luke pleaded, "Let UNIT take care of it. Rose must have told us to avoid aliens for a reason."

"Luke, I know what I'm doing." Sarah Jane said. She felt guilty when she saw how upset her son looked, but she couldn't just pick and choose when she was going to defend the Earth like she picked her news stories. It had to be a full-time job. "Mr. Smith, tap into my medical records, put in a family history of heart disease."

"Why?" Luke asked, suspiciously.

"That way if I go in complaining of chest pains, they'll keep me overnight. What better way to get into a hospital than to be a patient?" Sarah Jane answered. "Maria, you understand you can't come with us, it'd be too suspicious. You stay here incase Mr. Smith finds anything else unusual."

"Okay." Maria agreed.

"Luke, come on." Sarah Jane said, grabbing her coat.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." Luke protested.

"It'll be fine, look, if anything comes up that we can't handle, I'll call Rose and the Brig for back up, okay?"

Reluctantly, Luke agreed, "Okay, but I think I should be the patient."

"Oh no, you will not!" Sarah Jane said, "I have nothing to hide in my biology, you do. I will not have anyone running experiments on you!" There was no more time for argument as Sarah Jane steered her son out the door.

**Author's note: Okay, I had to think long and hard about how I was going to get Sarah Jane into the hospital, because obviously Mr. Smith couldn't have noticed it because if he had then he would have noticed it in the non-parallel universe as well, my thought is, if she just happens by it on her way home doing something that she wouldn't have done in the other universe, it would make sense. That's why I have the Harriet Jones bit, because if it was the other universe she probably would be interviewing Saxon instead of Jones, and he would have no reason to chuck her out…not at that time at least. So, that is the logic for this chapter, I'm not just pulling stuff out of my arse. Thanks to CountryGrl for being my Beta**


	6. The Rain

The Rain

Luke sat on the floor of the hospital, reading a comic he had borrowed from Clyde as his mum sat in a hospital bed waiting for doctors to come around and check on her. He was still angry with his mother for ignoring him about Rose's warning to stay away from aliens. He had thought about calling her, but he knew Sarah Jane wouldn't approve of that.

"Miss Sarah Jane Smith," said a doctor to a group of interns, "Admitted yesterday for chest pains. Jones, your theories?" A pretty black intern, who looked petrified to be called out in front of her colleges, stepped forward. She checked Sarah Jane's heartbeat with her stethoscope.

"Um, I don't know, angina?" Jones said.

The doctor rolled his eyes. "That is a symptom, Jones, not a diagnosis."

The girl looked embarrassed. "It's okay," Sarah Jane assured her, kindly. "Anyone could have made that mistake."

"Yes, of course," the head doctor said dryly, "You, however, failed the very basic task of checking the patient's chart." He picked up the chart at the end of Sarah Jane's bed, but when he did a blue spark of electricity shocked him and he dropped it.

"That happened to me earlier." Sarah Jane said, "When I tried to turn on the lamp."

"Me too," said Jones. "In the locker room."

"And me in the lifts," added another intern.

"It's only static electricity," debunked the head doctor. "There's a thunderstorm moving in, and lightning is a form of electricity as proved by…anyone?"

"Benjamin Franklin." Luke piped up, "In 1752, but at the time he didn't know what electricity was or what he could do with it, it wasn't until Count Volta in 1800 that humans were able to harness electricity, then it would take another 60 years before Thomas Edison made electricity a practical means of power."

"Very good." the doctor congratulated him, "and who are you?"

"This is my son, Luke." said Sarah Jane, "I'm sorry, he couldn't stay home by himself, so I had to bring him with me."

"I see." The doctor said, "you seem clever, Luke."

"He's the top of his class." Sarah Jane said, proudly, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me," said the doctor, "What do you think is wrong with your mother?"

"I think it's all in her head and we should go home." Luke said sharply, looking at his mum. Sarah Jane shot him a dangerous glance. The doctor chuckled without much humor.

"Well, it seems like you have a lot learn." The doctor said. "It says here you have a history of heart failure in your family."

"Yes, I do." Sarah Jane answered. Luke got angry but didn't say anything, before he could listen to the rest of the conversation his pocket vibrated.

"I'm going to use the loo." said Luke. He hurried away from the doctors and flipped open his phone.

"Clyde?" Luke answered.

"Maria." Maria's voice corrected, "My mobile died, I'm borrowing his. Mr. Smith figured he located the source of the power usage, we're heading over there now with blueprints of the building."

"Is your dad bringing you?" Luke asked.

"No, we're walking, why?"

"You're walking in this weather?"

"What are you talking about?" Maria asked, "It's sunny."

"Are you kidding?" Luke said, "It's been pouring down here all day."

"Oh my God." Luke heard Clyde's voice in the background.

"Luke, it's raining on the hospital." Maria said.

"I know, it has been all day."

"No, Luke, it's raining only on the hospital. Like, there is just one cloud over the hospital, and everywhere else is fine."

Luke felt worry well up in his stomach, "You two better get here, fast." he said.

"We'll hurry." Maria said. There was a click, then the phone went dead.

He went back out to the clinic, the doctors had moved on, leaving Sarah Jane alone in her bed. "Clyde and Maria are on their way." Luke said, "they said this storm is just over the hospital. The rest of London is clear."

Sarah Jane looked worried, she flipped up her watch. "There are massive amounts of morphic energy in the hospital. That's new, it wasn't there yesterday."

"Does it have anything to do with the increase in plasmacores?" Luke asked.

"No," Sarah Jane said, "This looks like it's something different. What is going on here?" Just then Luke's phone vibrated again.

Luke answered, without looking at the ID this time.

"Maria?" he answered.

"Luke?" It wasn't Maria's voice this time, but Rose's. "I just called the house, where are you?"

"We're at the hospital; Mum was having chest pains…"

"Get out." Rose said. "Get out, now."

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Just do it!" Rose yelled, "Now! Go home!"

"Luke!" a voice yelled behind him, he turned to so Maria and Clyde, dripping wet and obviously winded, running up the aisle of beds, "Luke, Sarah Jane, look…look outside."

"Luke, listen to me, get out!" Rose shouted from the phone, "Get out!"

"Oh, my," Sarah Jane breathed. She was looking out of the window now.

"Luke Smith, you listen to me right now!" Rose yelled.

Luke looked out the window to see what everyone else was looking at, the rain…"The rain is going up!" he said out loud.

"GET OUT, LUKE!" screamed Rose, "NOW!" Before he could respond the hospital gave a great shudder and lurch. Luke fell onto the ground next to Maria, his phone skidded across the floor and shattered against the wall. He felt his nose start bleeding where he hit the floor. When he looked up the lighting of room had changed.

"No way." said Clyde, who was already up and at the window.

"What is it?" Sarah Jane asked, Luke got up and hurried to his friend. He suddenly knew why Rose wanted them to leave the hospital. The city of London was gone….they were on the moon.


	7. Smith and Jones

"Luke, try to patch my watch into Clyde's mobile, if we can utilize the power build up we might be able to boost the signal enough to contact Mr. Smith." Sarah Jane called as she hurried through the corridors without bothering to wait for the three kids behind her. "We need to get outside, see how we're trapped here. We obviously have artificial gravity, what else do we have?"

They walked in on two of the interns arguing by the window. One of them was the girl who had checked Sarah Jane's heartbeat, and mistakenly given a symptom instead of a diagnosis.

"…we'll lose all the air!" one of the girls cried.

"But the windows aren't air tight," said the other one. "The air should have all been sucked out right away, but it wasn't."

"Good logic." Sarah Jane said. Both girls jumped. "What's your name, again?"

"Martha," said the black girl, "Martha Jones, and you're Mrs. Smith, right?"

"It's Miss," Sarah Jane said, not looking at the girl, instead checking the windows, "I'm not married, and it's Sarah Jane. Come on, we need to get to the patients' lounge. Show us where it is, please."

"This way." Martha said, starting to lead the way, but the other girl grabbed her arm.

"Martha, don't go," pleaded the girl, "you might die."

"I might not." replied Martha, "Look, you look after the patients, I'll be back."

Martha led the group through the corridors. Sarah Jane kept up with the young intern, Luke walking next to her, trying to patch the battery in Clyde's phone to his mum's watch. "I need the lipstick." he said. Sarah Jane handed it over.

"What's that?" asked Martha.

"Sonic lipstick." Sarah Jane answered.

Martha looked peeved, "Well, if you're not going to answer me properly…"

"No, it really is." Luke said, "See, it's a sonic probe concealed as a lipstick tube." He showed it to Martha.

Martha brought them to the patients' lounge. Sarah Jane opened the doors to the balcony.

"Woah..." Clyde breathed. "We're really, properly in space."

"And we have air." Maria added, "Sarah Jane, how can we have air?"

Sarah Jane didn't answer right away. She looked around and found a pebble on the ground. She threw it as hard as she could outwards. It hit something causing waves of barely visible movement, like a ripple in water.

"Force field?" Luke asked.

"Keeping the air in." said Sarah Jane.

"But, that means we only have the air we came here with." Martha said, "What happens when it runs out?"

Sarah Jane didn't answer right away. "We need to get home before we find out." she said finally. "Luke, how is that phone going?"

"I think I'll be able to patch it through." Luke answered.

There was a loud sound that Sarah Jane recognized as rockets landing. "What's that?" Maria asked. She leaned over the side of the railing to see the ships landing. "Do you recognize them?" she asked.

"No," replied Sarah Jane, "But for some reason that makes me more anxious."

"I got it!" Luke exclaimed. "We can talk to Mr. Smith now." He handed the mobile to Sarah Jane, who took it without hesitation. She dialed Mr. Smith.

"I thought you said you weren't married." Martha asked.

It picked up immediately. "Hello, Sarah Jane, I am detecting a call coming from somewhere in the earth's orbit."

"We're on the moon." Sarah Jane answered. "Can you teleport us down?" There was a moment of quiet on the phone, as Mr. Smith calculated.

"I'm sorry, Sarah Jane, but an unknown entity is interfering with my signal. Teleport not possible."

Sarah Jane didn't reply. She looked at Luke, Maria, and Clyde. She stranded them here. "Okay, then…" She thought for a second, not sure what her next move would be. "There are aliens here. If I describe them, can you tell me what we're dealing with?"

"I will try." Mr. Smith promised.

"What's going on?" asked Martha, "Are you aliens?"

"Not exactly." Maria answered.

"Clyde, does this take pictures?" Sarah Jane asked, indicating the phone.

"Yeah," Clyde said.

"Good. Clyde, you come with me. Maria, Luke, take Martha and find out what is making those energy spikes and stop it." Sarah Jane instructed.

The kids nodded. Martha looked confused, but Sarah Jane trusted her son to explain things to her. Before they turned away, Sarah Jane took Luke by the arms. "Be careful," she said, "And I love you."

"I love you, too." Luke answered, "I'll see you soon." She kissed his forehead.

Sarah Jane signaled for Clyde to follow her and made her way to the lobby. "Mr. Smith, are you still there?"

"Yes, Sarah Jane." answered Mr. Smith.

"Okay," She crouched by a fake plant so she could see the goings-on below. The plastic leaves filled her with hope for a second then snatched it away. All the plants in the hospital were fake, hypo-allergenic. If they'd been real, they might have been slightly better equipped to maintain the oxygen. They might have a bit of a chance. It was a big hospital, after all, plenty of room for oxygen to hide, but there were also a lot of people in it.

After a second Sarah Jane saw the creatures appear. They were massive humanoids dressed in black leather armor, wearing huge helmets.

"They don't look friendly." Clyde said.

The aliens took off their helmets. Sarah Jane could barely believe it. On the human form were huge rhino heads. The leader took out a device and held it to a terrified intern.

"What the bloody hell are those?" Clyde asked.

Sarah Jane lifted the phone and snapped a picture of the creatures then put the phone back up to her ear. "Can you give me any information on them?" She asked her computer.

"What you are encountering is a race called the Judoon. They are a bounty hunter race employed by the galactic police to enforce the law. Sarah Jane, it is vital you do what they say, or they will execute."

"So they were the ones who brought us to the moon?" Clyde asked.

"Basic H2O scoop to isolate the hospital." Mr. Smith replied. "Something else must be using the hospital for a hideout. Beware, if the Judoon find the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they could punish everyone in it."

Sarah Jane took a breath, trying to keep herself from panicking. "Thank you, Mr. Smith." She hung up.

"So what are they looking for?" Clyde asked.

"I have no idea." answered Sarah Jane.

"So basically," Martha said, after Luke and Maria's brief explanation of their work, "You're alien hunters."

"We don't just hunt aliens." Maria objected, "We help them, too. Not all of them are evil like the Daleks and the Cybermen. Some of them are nice. Like there was this one creature from a planet call Crysinania, she showed us books from her home planet, they had pictures of skies painted with diamonds, and…"

"Maria," Luke cut across, "If you don't mind, we can chat about the good and pretty later."

Maria made a face at him.

Martha entered a room, "Doctor…." But a woman looked up a bloody straw in her mouth. Luke's stomach churned as he saw the dead man on the floor. "Sorry." Martha said, her face pale.

"Kill them." The woman ordered. A leather clad man turned to the group.

"Run!" Luke yelled. Martha led the kids through to an x-ray lab. Luke and Maria barricaded the door.

"What was that?" Maria demanded, breathing heavy.

"A vampire." Martha suggested.

"I don't think so." said Luke, "Mr. Smith was telling me about species that need blood to maintain physical shape, or some that mimic the DNA of their victims to hide."

There was a bang at the door, the barricade started breaking. Maria screamed.

"So how do we stop her?" Martha asked.

"I don't know." Luke answered. There was another bang at the door.

"Luke, we need to move." Maria said, panicked. Luke ignored her.

"We need to get to the source of the energy spike." Luke said. "Then warn Mum about the bloodsucker."

"First we need to get out of here!" Maria said.

Martha looked around as the door creaked. "Ventilation shafts." she said, pointing to a grate on the ceiling.

"Brilliant." Luke said. He ran over to it and took the grate off it. He was welcomed with a face full of dust. It was small, but they would fit. "Maria, you first." he said.

Maria took a breath, she looked worried. Luke cupped his hands and boosted her up. He could hear her cough as she got in there. "It's a bit dusty." she yelled.

Martha helped Luke up then she followed just as there was a loud bang, the leather man broke down the door. "Go forward." Luke hissed.

Maria obeyed. They got to the end of the shaft where there was another grate. "It won't open," she said, "give me the sonic."

"I don't have the sonic." Luke told her, "I gave it back to Mum."

"Crap." she murmured. There were loud, reverberating bangs, and Luke could hear people outside screaming, as Maria hit the grate. "Ouch!" she cried, but she hit it again and again. Finally it fell off the vent.

"Maria?" a familiar voice said.

"Hey, Sarah Jane." answered Maria, "Can you help me down?" Maria was pulled from the shaft.

Luke could now see the room they were in. It was a filing room, desks and computers scattered around. Clyde was helping Maria straighten up on the floor. Sarah Jane reached up to help Luke out. "Thanks," Luke said.

Clyde helped Martha out.

"Maria," Sarah Jane said, "Your hand." Luke looked over. Maria's hand was gashed from where she hit the grating. It was already bleeding heavily.

"It's fine." Maria lied, trying to hide her cut. She looked very pale. Luke knew that Maria hated blood, particularly her own. Not many things got to Maria, but blood did.

"No, it's not." said Sarah Jane.

Martha dusted her coat off. "Come on, Maria." Martha said, "I'll get that stitched up for you."

As Martha had Maria sit down at a computer chair, Luke turned to his mother. "There's another creature in the hospital, she looks like an old woman." he told her, "But I think it's some sort of blood imitator."

"Of course!" murmured Sarah Jane. "Of course the Plasmacores. It must be a plasmavore they're after. The creatures who trapped us here, they're Judoon. They're like police, only for universal affairs. They're seeking out a fugitive that's hiding in the hospital."

"Great, let's nab the old biddy and we can go home." Clyde said.

"I'm afraid 'nabbing the old biddy' might be harder than you think, Clyde." Sarah Jane said. "If she is a plasmavore, she won't register as an alien."

"What if…" Luke started. "What if I could cancel out the human blood in her system?" Luke suggested. "Martha, do you have stuff to do blood typing here?"

Martha looked up from doing her stitches. "Yeah, in the lab."

"Okay." Sarah Jane said. "We'll start there." As soon as Maria's hand was stitched up, Martha lead them to the lab. But by the time the group got to the lab, Sarah Jane was worried about how much time they had to figure this out. People were half-collapsed in the hallway, and Maria was already wheezing from exercise and blood loss.

"Luke, you need to figure this out quickly." Sarah Jane warned.

"But he's just a kid." said Martha.

"A very clever kid." Sarah Jane told her.

He did. It took him five minutes, then he held up a syringe. "If I'm right, this should cancel out the properties of human blood. I just hope it works."

"It's going to have to." Sarah Jane said. Taking the syringe. But by the time it took to figure out the mix Maria was on her knee looking very pale and very sleepy. "Maria!" Sarah Jane shouted, running over to the girl. "Maria, darling, don't go to sleep." Maria looked up sleepily, her eyes barely regarding Sarah Jane at all.

"I'm…okay." She murmured.

"Here." Martha said. She budged between Sarah Jane and Maria. She held an oxygen mask up to Maria's face. "Just breathe, Maria. It's okay." Then she looked up at Sarah Jane. "We don't have much time; we'll be out of air soon. There aren't enough oxygen tanks for all these people."

"Right." Sarah Jane said, fear for Maria in her stomach, the young girl looked ready to pass out. There was no way she would be able to move, but Sarah Jane didn't want to leave her on her own. "Clyde, you stay here and take care of Maria." Clyde opened his mouth to protest but Sarah Jane cut him off. "Please, Clyde, I need you to protect her."

Clyde nodded. Sarah Jane kissed him on the forehead. Then she kissed Maria's forehead. "I'll be back for you as soon as I can." She promised them, "Stay safe."

The lack of oxygen was starting to drag Sarah Jane down as the static electricity was building as well. "If we find the source of the electric surge…" said Sarah Jane, "we should find the plasmavore."

"What uses the most energy in the hospital?" Luke asked Martha.

"I don't know." said Martha, "the MRI, I guess, or the radiation machines, or the..."

"Which is closer?" interrupted Luke.

"MRI." Martha replied.

"Then let's check there first." Sarah Jane said. Again, Martha led the way. Sarah Jane couldn't help but admire her courage and acceptance of the impossible. When they got out of this, Sarah Jane might have found another ally. Luke seemed to like her as well, as did Maria. She certainly knew how to keep her head in a stressful situation.

They got to the MRI room to see another young intern struggling with two leather-clad beings.

"Mum, it's her!" Luke yelled, pointing behind the leather men at an old woman in a dressing gown.

"Martha..." gasped the intern being held, "Help."

Luke charged at one of the leather men, hitting him with full force. The man was unbalanced and fell from the intern, Luke slammed to the floor next to him. "Luke!" Sarah Jane cried. In a split second the leather man recovered from the blow and pinned Luke down. Martha whacked it over the head with an oxygen tank. Luke rolled to his side and got up.

"Oliver, get out of here!" Martha yelled, as she jammed the oxygen tank in the face of the second leather man. She handed the oxygen tank to Oliver. "Get to safety."

"But, but, that thing…" He said, pointing to the MRI which was going crazy, electric currents visibly coming off it.

"I can stop it." Sarah Jane promised.

Oliver nodded and ran. Luke and Martha continued to wrestle the leather men. Martha looked behind her back. "Stand back!" Martha yelled. Luke hit the floor and covered his head. Martha grabbed the men's arms and forced them into the electrically charged MRI. Sarah Jane shielded her eyes. The leather men hit the floor dead, but so did Martha.

"NO!" Luke yelled. He tried to run to her, but Sarah Jane grabbed him around the torso and pulled him from harm.

"There's nothing we can do." Sarah Jane said, her heart full of sadness. Martha was barely more than a kid, she didn't need to die. She rounded on the old woman, anger flaring. "What are you?" Sarah Jane demanded, "Why are you doing this?"

"Just stopped for a little snack," the woman said innocently, "Then the Judoon tracked me down, and this is the perfect opportunity. I can use this MRI to burn everything within a 250,000 miles radius."

"But that includes the earth!" Luke yelled. He was panting heavily from the tussle with the leather men.

"Only the side facing the moon." she said nonchalantly, "The other side will be fine. Call it a gift."

"Why are you doing this?" Sarah Jane demanded, her hand shaky on Luke's shoulder.

"I'll be safe behind this shield here, while the Judoon get roasted." The Plasmavore explained. "Then I can fly away in their ships."

"You'd destroy a planet just to get home?" Sarah Jane said in disbelief. "There are billions of people down there, thousands in here. A thousand people will suffocate, my son…" She held Luke close, "he's fourteen years old. There are children here, babies…"

"Not my problem." The Plasmavore hissed.

Sarah Jane's stomach twisted, but her heart hardened. "You think so?" she asked. She broke away from Luke, and ran at the plasmavore. She sunk the syringe into her skin and depressed it. The Plasmavore screamed and fell to the floor.

"Mum," Luke said, "This is critical." He indicated the MRI.

"I've got it." Sarah Jane told him. She took out the sonic and broke the machine. There was a bang and a small explosion. Then the MRI went dead. As adrenaline died away, Sarah Jane felt her head swirl with the lack of air.

"You did it." Luke said, he smiled, even though he wasn't so much panting now as wheezing, and looked unsteady. But there was barely time to celebrate. Sarah Jane noticed he was sluggish too. He looked at the plasmavore. She was gasping, her face turning an odd shade of purple. Sarah Jane wasn't sure what Luke had used in the syringe, but it was working. He turned back to his Mum, she thought he was going to run over and hug her but before instead he fell to his knees.

"Luke!" Sarah Jane cried, running to her son. "Luke, no." She sank to the floor with him and gathered him in her arms. She felt him shake slightly as he tried to breathe, tried to get nonexistent oxygen out of the hot, heavy air.

"I'm okay." Luke told her. His voice was unsteady.

"I know you are." Sarah Jane whispered, she hugged him close and rocked him. "Hold on, Luke, please, hold on." The Judoon would come in soon and find the plasmavore, they had to, and they the hospital would go home, "Hold on for a little bit and we'll be home soon."

"I'm tired, Mum." murmured Luke.

"You mustn't sleep." Sarah Jane told him. "Listen to me, Luke, stay awake. You mustn't go to sleep."

"Okay," he murmured. But his head was getting heavier on Sarah Jane's chest. She shook him slightly.

"Please, Luke," Sarah Jane cried, "it's never been more important, stay awake. Stay awake."

"I loveyou, Mum." He whispered, barely audible, his words starting to slur together.

"I love you, too." Sarah Jane cried. "So much."

"Iwannagohome." Luke murmured. "Sotired."

Sarah Jane ran her fingers through his messy brown hair, "We'll be home soon, I promise. But until then, keep your eyes open."

"M'kay." She felt him try to lift his head up, but he couldn't. "Thanky…ou" he said heavily, barely bordering on the edge of consciousness, "For…beingmy…mum."

Sarah Jane felt a tear slide down her cheek, she hugged him tighter. He was giving up, he couldn't give up. She wouldn't let him. He was going to live, he had to. She wouldn't lose, not here, not now, not ever.

"Please, Luke, stay with me. Hold on, please. Don't close your eyes. Please, Luke. Luke? Luke! Luke, please, no! Luke!" She shook him but he didn't wake. He had to wake. He couldn't die! Not like this! Not at fourteen! Not on a hospital floor so far from home.

"Luke! Luke, wake up! Please, Luke!" Sarah Jane felt her heart break. This couldn't be real. She shook him again, "Luke! God no! Please! No!"

He didn't stir. He was completely still. Luke. Her Luke. Her wonderful, clever, perfect son - the most important thing in her life, the only thing in her life that mattered - was gone. It was her fault. "Luke." She cried desperately into her son's hair, hugging him tight, as though trying to transfer her life to him. She would if she could. She would die a thousand times if he could live. There's nothing she wouldn't give to make him wake up. She would trade her life for his in a second. But it was useless. He couldn't hear her pleads, "Luke, wake up, please, wake up." But her sobbing didn't last long, as she felt her own life fading from her. She wouldn't be separated from her son for long.

She faintly heard a Judoon's voice saying, "Nonhuman confirmed, execute." But she heard no more after that. Still clutching her son's body for dear life, Sarah Jane Smith drifted to sleep. Leaving the world she tried so hard to protect, protecting it one last time.

The hospital returned to Earth. Alan Jackson stood in a queue of anxious people, along with Tish Jones, Carla Langer, and thousands of others. None of them saw or even noticed each other. All of them were about to receive the worst news they could possibly imagine.

The following Christmas, the Jones family as well as Carla Langer were killed, when a spaceship that looked like the Titanic crashed into London. Alan Jackson, who had moved to Liverpool after he lost his daughter, died a few months later, when a car he was in locked and filled with toxic gas from an ATMOS device that was supposed to stop toxins from getting into the environment. The same day, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, and Gwen Cooper were incinerated as they tried to stop a fleet of Sontarns from poisoning the Earth. A few months later, in a town called Danemouth, despite living in Britain almost their entire lives, a couple who never met Sarah Jane or Luke Smith, Haresh and Gita Chandra were sent to a "work camp" with their daughter Rani. Rani and Gita both fell very ill and died within weeks of moving. And in a street in Chiswick, Donna Noble lay on the street dying. And another Donna turned left.


	8. Merry Christmas, Sarah Jane

Christmas Day 2006

"Then you'll never guess what Maria did, she went right up to him, grabbed the book out of his hand and said, 'Excuse me, sir, but if I needed your help I would have asked for it, thank you very much,' and then she stomped right on his foot and marched away." Luke said as he helped his mum put away the after Christmas dishes.

Sarah Jane laughed, "That doesn't sound like Maria."

"She did." Luke said, "The shop owner got so angry, he told us if we were going to start fights we couldn't come back there anymore."

"You really shouldn't be getting yourself kicked out of shops." Sarah Jane said, smiling despite her entertained disapproval.

"Tell that to her, not me." said Luke, putting away one dish and starting to dry another one. Sarah Jane just rolled her eyes.

Then the door burst open.

"LUKE!" a voice yelled, "SARAH JANE! Come outside!" Luke and his mother exchanged looks then put the dishes down and ran to the door. Maria was standing in it, her coat wrapped around her, excitement in her eyes. "It's snowing!" She announced.

Sarah Jane stepped outside. "It is." she said, surprised. Luke looked amazed.

"Snow is good?" Luke asked.

"YES!" Maria laughed, "Very good!"

A flake fell on Luke's face and he pulled away, "It's colder than I thought it would be." Sarah Jane laughed and ruffled his messy hair.

"Come on, get your coat." Maria prompted. Luke obeyed and the two kids ran out into the yard. Sarah Jane followed, waving to Alan from across the street. All up and down Bannerman Road, kids and adults alike were coming out to play in the snow. Clyde came running down the street; Carla bundled up right behind him. Clyde joined in a snowball fight that Maria and Luke started. Snowflakes clung to all of their dark hair.

Sarah Jane looked over; a tall man with a long brown coat was leaning against a blue phone box. He waved at her. Sarah Jane ran over to him.

"Doctor!" she said, hugging him.

"Hello, Sarah." he replied.

"Was this you?" she asked, indicating the falling snow.

"Yeeeeah," he said, "I figured London could use some Christmas cheer."

Sarah Jane smiled. "It's wonderful." she said. Then she got solemn, "I read about Canary Wharf…about Rose, I'm sorry. Are you doing okay?"

The Doctor's eye's were sad and hollow didn't answer. She'd noticed the last time she'd seen him that this regeneration doesn't like to talk about things that hurt him, instead he just changed the subject. "The bigger question is," he said, "Who's that boy?"

"My son." Sarah Jane told him, "I adopted him. It's a long story; do you want to come inside?"

"Nah," the Doctor said, "I'm just passing and figured I'd say hi."

"I'm glad you did," she told him. "Do you need anything?" They both knew she was still talking about Rose.

The Doctor gave a sad smile. "No, I'd better get going."

"Doctor…"

"Merry Christmas, Sarah Jane." the Doctor said.

He turned and went back into the TARDIS. There was a wheezing and he was gone. Sarah Jane turned back to her life on Bannerman Road. This was not the time to be sad. Kids were laughing and playing, couples were kissing, parents were smiling at their families. In Maria's driveway, Clyde and Luke had teamed up against Maria and were trying to throw her into a snow pile they had built up. Sarah Jane smiled. Life went on. Life would always go on.


End file.
